An Obsession with All Things Handmade and Home-Cooked

Tag Archives: blondies

It’s not hard to understand the appeal: syrupy-sweet, warmly spiced, and redolent of everyone’s favorite morning cup of Joe, pumpkin spice lattes have taken off for plenty of good reasons. Add in their limited seasonal availability, and you’ve got a legitimate craze on your hands. What I have trouble wrapping my mind around, on the other hand, is why this same flavor palate has spread like an annual autumnal infection across the food landscape, afflicting everything from breath mints to hummus to moonshine, and that’s not even the tip of the iceberg. Don’t forget about the body care products, offering pumpkin spice lip balm to keep you in the pumpkin spice spirit even when you’re not actively consuming anything.

Pumpkin spice is a wonderful thing, but I think that I’m reaching flavor fatigue more rapidly than ever. At least, that was until I heard about the latest creation from Dandies…

Well, I’ll eat my hat. Or another round of pumpkin spice treats, to be more accurate. A large part of this once humble seasoning’s success is truly its pervasiveness. No longer can it be ignored or avoided; one must either get on board, or get run over. Luckily, it’s no sacrifice to join the bandwagon with these mini marshmallows. Cinnamon leads in this well-balanced melange of spices, followed by more subtle notes of clove and ginger, but the blend is so successful that it’s truly a challenge to pick the individual notes apart. Soft, springy little pillows of fluff, they possess the very same delightful chew as the originals, but sport a dusty orange hue to complete the theme.

The temptation to plop a few of those miniature mallows straight into my steaming mug of coffee was strong, I must admit, but I managed to resist. Of course, I didn’t manage to resist shoveling two full bags into my mouth completely unadorned and in short order, but I’d like to think that there’s still more dignity in that approach, some how.

With my last remaining bag, I went into the kitchen and fired up the oven to do these morsels proper justice. As temperatures outside began to drop, the kitchen began to warm and fill with the heady aroma of brown sugar, toasted marshmallows, and yes, pumpkin spice.

Folded into a dense yet soft blondie batter enriched with a healthy dose of genuine pumpkin puree, most of the marshmallows seemed to melt while baking, but that’s not to say they disappeared. Leaving gooey pockets of sweetness, almost like a highly spiced caramel sauce, each void contained an incredible wealth of flavor.

The year, I implore you to leave the latte, but take the blondie. There’s no sense in fighting the incoming wave of pumpkin-treats this year, so we might as well make them count.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8 x 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil. Lightly grease and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking powder, and salt. Add in 1/2 cup of the marshmallows and 1/3 cup of the pepitas. Toss to coat the mix-ins with the dry goods. This will help prevent them from all sinking to the bottom as the blondies bake.

In a separate bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, oil, aquafaba, and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Once homogeneous, pour these liquid ingredients into the bowl of dry goods, stirring with a wide spatula just to combine. Be careful not to over-mix.

Spread the batter into your prepared pan, smoothing it out into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining marshmallows and pumpkin seeds over the top, gently pressing them into the surface. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, until the marshmallows are lightly browned, the batter no longer appears wet, and a toothpick inserted into the center pulls out cleanly. The bars puff up quite a bit while baking, along with the toasted marshmallows on top, but never fear! They’ll fall back down to a normal size once cooled.

Let cool completely before slicing into square or bars. For the cleanest cuts, chill the whole slab for at least 15 minutes and use a very sharp knife to make easy work of that sticky marshmallow topping.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction; applied to baked goods, this theory could be interpreted to say that for every brownie, there is a blondie. Isn’t science great?

Thus, when my brownie crisps were received with such voracious enthusiasm, I knew right away that there would need to be a round two for this experiment. Boasting the same satisfying crunch in a lighter golden-brown package, these sweet squares are the perfect contrast to the dark, devilish rendition that inspired them. I can’t say that one is better than the other- In fact, I think it would be unfair to pick one over the other. Clearly, the only way to maintain a harmonious balance is to make a batch of both at once.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper or a silpat.

In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer,) combine the aquafaba and sugar and beat until foamy. You’re not looking to whip it into a firm meringue here, but a loose froth with the sugar fully dissolved. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, pea protein, salt, and baking powder, stirring to ensure that all of the ingredients are equally distributed throughout the mixture.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients while the mixer runs, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Immediately follow with the oil, molasses, and vanilla, and stir just until the batter comes together smoothly. Fold in the half of the white chocolate chips and walnuts by hand.

Transfer the batter to your prepared baking sheet and use an offset spatula to spread it out as thinly as humanly possible. The batter should just about cover the whole sheet. Sprinkle the remaining white chocolate chips and walnuts evenly over the top.

Bake on the center rack in the oven for 20 minutes, rotate the pan, and continue baking for 10 more minutes. Pull the sheet out and use a pizza cutter to slice the square or rectangular shapes you desire, but don’t separate them yet. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for a final 10 – 14 minutes. They may still feel slightly soft in the center, but they’ll continue to crisp as they cool.

Let the crisps cool completely on the baking sheet before breaking the cookies apart. Store in an airtight container for up to a week, if you can manage to keep them around that long.

Inspired by the call for adventurous chocolate recipes by the annual Chocolate Adventure Contest hosted by Scharffen Berger, the only restrictions were that it involve chocolate (naturally) and the results were presented in sandwich cookie format. Still buzzing with frozen dessert ideas after wrapping up Vegan a la Mode at the time, my thoughts naturally turned to ice cream.

Featuring cornmeal, coconut milk, and jalapeño as my adventuresome ingredients, it may not have placed in the contest, but it was still a big winner by my estimation. At the center of it all, rich, creamy chocolate ice cream is accented with a bright pop of fresh peppery spice, combining the contrasting sensations of hot and cold all in one taste. Each slab of the frozen dessert is wedged between two thick, chewy cornmeal blondies sprinkled with big chocolate chunks. While each component is drop-dead delicious separately, they create one truly memorable treat when eaten together in one bite.

For the ice cream, start by combining the almond milk, coconut milk, and jalapeño in a medium saucepan. Toss in the seeds and all, set it over moderate heat, and bring the mixture to a boil. Once bubbling vigorously, immediately turn off the heat, cover with the lid, and let infuse for about 2 hours. Strain, pressing all of the liquid out of the spent pepper, and discard the solids.

Whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, arrowroot, salt, and cayenne, adding in about 1/4 cup of the jalapeño milk and stir into a thick paste, beating out any lumps of starch. When smooth, incorporate the rest of the liquid, along with the agave, and whisk thoroughly to homogenize. whisk occasionally as it comes up to temperature. When bubbles begin forming around the edges of the liquid, add in the chocolate chips, and just let the mixture sit for 2 minutes, to allow the chocolate to begin melting.

Switch over to a wide spatula, and stir gently, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan, to make sure that nothing sticks and that the chocolate fully melts. Once the mixture comes up to a full boil, cook for just a minute or two longer, and as long as there are no more whole chocolate chips remaining, turn off the heat. Stir in the tequila (if using) and vanilla extract, and let cool completely before chilling thoroughly in the refrigerator; about 3 hours.

Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once frozen but still soft, transfer the ice cream into an air-tight container and let set up more solidly in the freezer before assembling the sandwiches.

In a large bowl, sift together the cornmeal, all purpose flour, and soy or garbanzo flour, and whisk in the sugar, paprika, salt, turmeric, and baking powder. Toss the chocolate chunks around in the dry goods to distribute them throughout and coat them with flour. This will help to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the bars while baking. Set aside.

Place the corn, oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and vinegar into your blender or food processor, and thoroughly puree. Pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture is completely smooth. Pour these wet goods into the bowl of dry, and with a wide spatula, gently stir the two together.

Transfer to your prepared pan, and spreading the batter out evenly into the corners and smoothing down the top with your spatula.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until the top of the blondies appears set is golden brown. Let cool before slicing.

When you’re ready to assemble to bars, line an 8 x 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil. Slice the full rectangle of baked blondies in half so that you’re left with two equal squares. Place one square into the prepared pan, lining it up flush with at least two of the pan’s sides. If there’s extra space between the other sides, construct a barrier with more foil and stand it up right next to the edge of the blondies. This will help prevent the ice cream from melting out initially.

Soften the ice cream slightly if needed, and mound it on top of the blondie square as evenly as possible. Working quickly, place the second half of the blondies on top, pressing down lightly to smooth the ice cream and adhere the sheet of cookies. Move the whole thing back into the freezer on a flat surface. Let freeze until very solid before slicing. The longer the better- At least overnight.

Finally, turn the entire affair out onto a large cutting board, and with a very sharp knife, slice into 12 – 16 sandwiches. Wrap individually in plastic wrap, or transfer into a spacious container with an air-tight lid. Store the sandwiches in the freezer until you’re ready to enjoy.

An alternate method for assembly: Slice the blondies into bars beforehand and store at room temperature in an air-tight container. Simply top a single bars with a scoop of ice cream when desired, and press a second blondie on top.